Modi Polarises Phase Six Polls of UP Assembly; First Phase of Poll in Manipur Begins Today

Narendra Modi has moved centre stage in U.P. in the closing days of the campaign, shifting from a sharp attack on the shortcomings of his political rivals to a dual strategy of isolating the Yadav community even as he makes a no-holds- barred attempt to polarise the polls. Sections of the Yadavs and the Dalits that voted BJP, in 2014, have returned to the SP and BSP, respectively. The powerful Jats have gravitated back to the Rashtriya Lok Dal. But what remains is substantial – a large section of upper castes and non-Yadav backward castes, replicating the social coalition that had sustained the BJP in U.P. in the 1990s when Kalyan Singh, an OBC was Chief Minister. The BJP is depending on an upper-caste- backward caste combine and the organisational skills of Amit Shah. Manipur, too, goes to polls in its first phase for 38 out of 60 Assembly seats where this is billed as a major test for Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress government in the state. PM Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and BJP leader Rajnath Singh were star campaigners in the first phase where they held multiple rallies. Here’s a report by our Associate Editor, Navodita, exclusively for Different Truths.

As Hindutva’s tallest leader, Narendra Modi has moved centre stage in U.P. in the closing days of the campaign, shifting from a sharp attack on the shortcomings of his political rivals to a dual strategy of isolating the Yadav community even as he makes a no-holds- barred attempt to polarise the polls. In the 2007 and 2012 U.P. Assembly elections, the BJP had not been in the contest. The SP and the BSP were locked in a straight fight. But courtesy the saffron tsunami that swept Modi into office at the Centre in 2014, with the BJP taking 71 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the party was able to mount a challenge for the U.P. with a much stronger base.

Yet, when the 2017 campaign started, there was barely a ripple, with the scale of the party’s support having clearly shrunk since 2014. In western U.P., the Muzaffarnagar riots of 2013 – and the sharp communal divide that followed – had set the stage for a BJP victory, in 2014. Today, like a strain that refuses to be washed away, signs of that communal animosity mar U.P.’s social landscape. Additionally, issues of demonetisation, farmers’ distress, caste affiliations and personal rivalries, too, are present. Sections of the Yadavs and the Dalits that voted BJP, in 2014, have returned to the SP and BSP, respectively. The powerful Jats have gravitated back to the Rashtriya Lok Dal. But what remains is substantial – a large section of upper castes and non-Yadav backward castes, replicating the social coalition that had sustained the BJP in U.P. in the 1990s when Kalyan Singh, an OBC was Chief Minister. The BJP is depending on an upper-caste- backward caste combine and the organisational skills of Amit Shah.

The challenges Akhilesh Yadav faces in rebranding the SP in his own image raise an important question about electoral politics. Since its founding, the SP continues to derive its organisational strength from the support of the All India Yadav Mahasabha, which promotes a view of a Yadav community that is imbued with extraordinary political skill and a capacity for ‘muscular’ politics. This is nested within the logic of caste assertion in politics. A family from the Rajbhar community on the outskirts of Babina in Bundelkhand region say they will vote for the BJP this time as Yadav’s government has provided drought-relief only to the Yadavs and not to non-Yadavs. “It isn’t just about doing work, we want someone who treats us all equally,” says a middle-aged man.

Thus a political campaign that started out with larger debates about development and law and order has once again reverted to the same old caste-religion mathematics that has characterised U.P. politics for decades. However this arithmetic is driven by the exact opposite phenomenon as the 1990s, a desire to remove caste and religion as the basis for economic distribution rather than explicit assertion of it (in the 1990s).

In these districts where last two phases of elections are to be held, caste matters the most. The districts going to polls are Mau, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Azamgarh and Ballia where voting will be on for 49 Assembly seats. Eyes will be on Gorakhpur, Lok Sabha constituency of BJP leader Yogi Adityanath, and Mau where jailed gangster-turned- MLA is in the fray. The prestige of Union Minister Kalraj Mishra is also at stake who represents Deoria in Lok Sabha. Truly in this election, with various party leaders taking a dig at each other, identity politics and polarisation has trumped development to take centre stage.

Meanwhile, the state of Manipur, too, goes to polls in its first phase for 38 out of 60 Assembly seats where this is billed as a major test for Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress government in the state. PM Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and BJP leader Rajnath Singh were star campaigners in the first phase where they held multiple rallies.

A major point of concern is the indefinite economic blockade in the state imposed by United Naga Council since November 1, 2016. The blockade has caused immense hardship to people commuting to and fro with the supply of essential commodities including fuel being affected by this. The blockade has been imposed on Manipur’s important National Highway 2 and NH 37 to protest against the state government’s decision to carve out seven new districts against the existing ones. During campaigning there were bitter exchanges between the Congress and BJP over economic blockade and Naga Peace Accord.

The Naga Peace Accord was signed between the NSCN-IM (Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagalim-Isak- Muivah) and the Centre in August, 2015. The Congress, however, has accused the BJP of compromising with the ‘territorial integrity’ of Manipur, an allegation BJP has denied.

Also, in this election fray is Irom Sharmila, who had been on a 16-year long hunger strike to protest the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), who is launching her party People’s Resurgence and Justice Alliance (PRJA) to fight for ‘self-reliant economy of Manipur’. Sharmila herself is contesting from Thoubal constituency, against incumbent Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh. However, her party has put up few campaigns and roadshows to put up a tough fight.

Manipur has about 9, 68, 312 female electors and 9, 25, 431 men voters. Repealing the AFSPA is yet another issue in these elections as the Chief Minister said, “We’ve removed AFSPA from Imphal municipal area covering seven Assembly constituencies in 2004. It was not easy. Everyone at the Centre was opposed to it. I managed to convince very reluctant Prime Minister Manmohan Singh that state police could handle the law and order of Imphal city. But it was not conducive to remove AFSPA from the entire state.” Sharmila is contesting on major issues of removal of AFSPA and cleansing the corrupt system.

Navodita Pande has been practicing yoga since she was 9 years old in Iyengar Yoga. In April 1995, she performed at the International Yoga Seminar. In January 2003, Navodita taught at Hare Rama Hare Krishna Mandir in New York. Navodita had a Yoga show on NDTV 24x7 and was also the official yoga trainer for Miss Delhi contestants in 2007. She currently teaches Yoga and Reiki to people in Kanpur.

Services

News-Feed

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed charges on Monday against a former chairman of state-run Canara Bank and others over allegations that the officials helped a company defraud the bank of about $10.5 million taken in loans over four years ago.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a softer tone towards the West on Monday after winning his biggest ever election victory, saying he had no desire for an arms race and would do everything he could to resolve differences with other countries.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Drivers for app-based cab aggregators Uber and Ola started an indefinite strike across India on Monday, demanding extra pay as a surge in the number of cabs on the two platforms, coupled with cutbacks in incentive payments, have stung drivers.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States has raised concerns about the functioning of the World Trade Organisation and asked for reforms, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said on Monday, as global trade tensions increased.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The world's financial leaders were seeking on Monday to clearly endorse free trade and renounce protectionism amid concern that U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium and looming actions against China could trigger a trade war that would hurt global growth.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain and the European Union agreed on Monday to a transition period to avoid a "cliff edge" Brexit next year -- though only after London accepted a potential solution for Northern Ireland's land border that may face stiff opposition at home.

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain's foreign minister won further support from the European Union and NATO on Monday over a nerve agent attack on a former Russian double agent as he denounced Moscow's denials of involvement as "increasingly absurd".

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg faced calls on Monday from U.S. and European lawmakers to explain how a consultancy that worked on President Donald Trump's election campaign gained access to data on 50 million Facebook users.

BEIJING (Reuters) - China elevated a key confidante of President Xi Jinping to one of the top positions in government on Monday as Beijing cracks down on riskier financing and a debt build-up that may pose systemic risks to the world's second-largest economy.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Actress and liberal activist Cynthia Nixon, one of the stars of the hit television series "Sex and the City," announced on Monday she would run for governor of New York, challenging incumbent Andrew Cuomo for the Democratic nomination.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Film star Daryl Hannah returned to the red carpet with her debut as a feature film director and said the odds are stacked against women taking prominent roles in the film industry.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The president of the Academy of Motion Pictures, the body that hands out the Oscars, is being investigated for sexual misconduct, Hollywood trade publications reported on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A law firm representing U.S. President Donald Trump and the corporation that paid porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 in what she called hush money over an alleged affair with Trump said in a court filing that it was seeking at least $20 million in damages for multiple violations of a nondisclosure agreement.

(Reuters) - Indian actor Irrfan Khan, whose roles in Hollywood films such as "Slumdog Millionaire", "The Amazing Spider-Man" and "Life of Pi" have brought him fame, has been diagnosed with a tumor and is traveling overseas for treatment, he said on Friday.

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - The stories told in a new documentary about Bill Murray are the stuff of an off-beat legend, taking the star to a Scottish house party where he washed the dishes, to singing with an accordion player in Slovenia and surprising a guy in a bar bathroom.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. (Reuters) - A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday ruled that five other women who have accused comedian Bill Cosby of sexual assault over the years could testify at his retrial on charges of drugging and assaulting a former friend, giving prosecutors an early win.

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed charges on Monday against a former chairman of state-run Canara Bank and others over allegations that the officials helped a company defraud the bank of about $10.5 million taken in loans over four years ago.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's top cement maker UltraTech Cement Ltd on Monday offered $1.1 billion to buy Binani Cement Ltd days after a rival bid in what could be a test case for the country's fledgling bankruptcy process.

(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp said on Monday it had agreed to settle a U.S. labour board case on whether the company is accountable for its franchisees' alleged labour law violations, according to a source involved in the case.

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The world's financial leaders sought on Monday to endorse free trade amid concerns over U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminium, while the United States said it could not sacrifice its national interests to make the system work.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States has raised concerns about the functioning of the World Trade Organisation and asked for reforms, WTO Director General Roberto Azevedo said on Monday, as global trade tensions increased.

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Drivers for app-based cab aggregators Uber and Ola started an indefinite strike across India on Monday, demanding extra pay as a surge in the number of cabs on the two platforms, coupled with cutbacks in incentive payments, have stung drivers.

NEW YORK, 2018 - U.S. stocks joined a broad decline in global equity markets on Monday as traders turned cautious ahead of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting this week and amid continuing concerns about the threat of a global trade war.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - AT&T Inc sought to persuade a judge on Monday to throw out evidence the government seeks to use in a trial that begins this week to show that the company's $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner Inc would harm consumers and competitors.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retailers and shoemakers continued to sound alarms on Monday about their concerns that President Donald Trump's plan to impose sweeping tariffs on imported goods from China will result in higher consumer prices.

SRINAGAR/MUZZAFARABAD (Reuters) - Five members of an Indian family were killed and two injured by shelling from Pakistani troops on Sunday along the Line of Control, the de facto border between India and Pakistan, according to army and police officials.

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A bomb planted on a motobike exploded in Afghanistan on Monday outside a political rally being held by a veteran insurgent commander who made peace with the government last year, killing three people and wounding eight, officials said.

MALE (Reuters) - Police in Maldives arrested at least 139 opposition protesters, its spokesman said on Saturday, as they attempted to defy orders under the state of emergency and march into the high security zone in capital Male.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lankan officials said on Thursday they had lifted a ban on Facebook after discussions with the social network, a week after blocking access on the grounds it was being used to fuel communal violence.

KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban car bomb killed at least three people and wounded two in the Afghan capital Kabul on Saturday in an apparent attack on a foreign contractor company that came despite a further tightening in security across the city, officials said.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan and reserve player Nurul Hasan have been fined 25 percent of their match fees and handed one demerit point each for code of conduct breaches during Friday's ill-tempered Twenty20 international against Sri Lanka.

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Once seen as relatively secure, the sprawling Afghan capital of Kabul is becoming the main focus of an intensified U.S.-backed battle against the Taliban this year after a series of high-profile attacks exposed major gaps in security.

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - A suicide bomb blast claimed by the Taliban ripped through a police checkpoint on the outskirts of the Pakistani city of Lahore on Wednesday, killing seven people and wounding 18, officials said.

Donald Trump's weekend of assaults on Robert Mueller's investigation pushed Washington closer than ever to the major crisis of governance that could ensue if the President were to act on his fury and fire the special counsel.

Four bombings in 16 days have left the Texas capital on edge, as Austin police are warning the public not to take chances: If it looks suspicious -- whether it's a package, box or backpack -- do not approach it.

A worker at the French Consulate in Jerusalem has been arrested for smuggling weapons from Gaza into East Jerusalem and the West Bank using his diplomatic immunity, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) announced Monday after a joint investigation with Israeli police.